Knowing when it’s time to update a website can be overwhelming and confusing. Typically website redesign conjures up images of designers and agency types huddled in conference rooms brainstorming creative ideas. Aesthetics are important, yes, but the marriage of functional and back end considerations with smart, optimized design, will make all the difference in determining the effectiveness of your site, and your branding. It’s not just about the package, baby, it’s what’s inside. At the end of the day, don’t you want a website that’s built to be found, offer solutions, and drive people to contact your business? How to know when it’s time for a new website? Here are 17 essential questions to consider before you enter into the world of website re-design:

So you’ve created an awe inspiring blog post, some of the best content to hit your website yet, hit the publish button, and then waited for the traffic to start pouring in to read and engage with your brilliant creation which took 4.5 hours to write, edit and optimize. And then you waited. And waited……crickets chirping…..

Unfortunately, all you heard were -well, see above. Of course your mom visited the site and said it was AMAZING. She’s your #1 fan But she’s also your… ONLY fan…

Why? Because you’re missing a critical piece of the blogging puzzle. Here’s the thing most of us, including myself when I was starting out -don’t understand. Your content in and of itself is only a small piece of the puzzle. Boom.

The fact is that without actively promoting your content, systematically, your blog is STILL going to be in nowheresville. Actually I take that back. Your work must be inspiring and must create great value otherwise even if it is promoted no one will read it. So the number 1 step is to of course create GREAT value. That being said…. * Content is only king if someone other than your mother can see it. * [Read more...]

Best in Innovative Marketing: A monthly series where I take a moment out of my busy day to give a quick shout out to what I believe to be some of the best and most innovative marketing by a company (small or sometimes quite large) that you’ll find out there today. Some epic, some hilarious, some just spot on, all memorable. Marketing whose branding is so thought provoking or just so awesome that you can’t stop thinking about it. And that’s the point, now, isn’t it.

Ladies and Gentlemen: Todays shout out goes to….drum roll please…

The Charmin Sit or Squat App

I don’t know where to begin, really.

If any of you had a mother like my mother, then you get how we SURE could have used this baby 30 years ago. Other than the great hilarity of the Charmin Sit or Squat app, which can be downloaded on for either iPhone or Android through iTunes, let’s give a quick summary: an app that helps you find a clean, public restroom when out and about is both functional, practical, interactive- folks send in their ratings to the app, labeling them either “sit” worthy or “squat” worthy. All of us have been in this situation and have longed without even knowing that

I’m not a Game of Thrones fan yet…simply because the last thing I need is another addictive TV series to get sucked into, and because I’m still mourning the Breaking Bad finale. My drama quotient has reached critical mass.

That being said, HBO’s Game of Thrones season 3 wins ‘Best Use of Visual Marketing’ in my book, and came this close to almost having me as a convert, with its use of the mysterious dragon shadow at the core of its branding. It’s the geek in me. And I couldn’t be farther from a dungeons and dragons girl.

Its subtle, yet alluring visuals for the upcoming season first seen in its poster and in all the magazines built momentum for its upcoming premiere, where HBO was making a concerted effort to transform the cult favorite show into a more mainstream experience, to attract a wider audience. ( of course). Witness: [Read more...]

That’s What She Said

I went to Suzen because Over40Females.com was not built to capture emails – no one told me that our “Newsletter” tab hidden in the corner was not enough. After one short meeting, Suzen told me how to strategize my homepage to make people want to sign up, and how to do it affordably. I have to be honest, I was skeptical, but after doing exactly what she recommended we immediately went from 2 – 3 newsletter sign-ups per week to 2 – 3/DAY and continuing to grow!
Thank-you!
Judy

Suzen Pettit’s business growth speech was both impactful and inspiring. I gained practical insight and valuable tips on increased online visibility and marketing tactics at large. A savvy coach, Suzen motivated me to “Get Cracking!”

Aline Weiller, Founder, CEO, Wordsmith, LLC

I came to Suzen because my website was nowhere, and when I say nowhere I mean it was nowhere. It needed optimization in a big way. My practice is only 3 years old and I finally have time to devote to getting “my word out”. Suzen has made it so easy, doing for me what I don’t have time to do myself, creating creative forms of content to set me apart, in her words from “the maddening crowd”. I’m now getting referrals from practices that were unaware that I existed 6 months before. She’s upped my b…

Jackson Mecalf, MD

Suzen is a great mind for your business. After spending 2 decades as a senior corporate marketing exec it is refreshing to work with someone who is agile, smart and unbounded. Suzen brought a fresh perspective to our business on many levels; adjusting our lenses with regard to driving web traffic, leveraging social media, creating new and different tools designed to “spread” naturally through the internet, and ultimately increasing walk-ins. She is also a groovy and edgy chick who isn…

Suzen and her team whipped my website into shape and in front of the exact market I was looking for but didn’t know how to find on my own. I’m a Veterinarian, not a marketer. I didn’t really understand the value of digital marketing or social media strategy for that matter, but now I do. In the last 6 months we’ve been working together my walk in rate has increased by at least 20%, especially in the last month. Wonderful. Thank you so much! Recommend highly.

Kevin BrandsonDVMPet TailsWhite Plains, NY

Suzen did a fantastic job evaluating my Frittabello website. Not only did she provide the information in a clear and ‘user-friendly’ way, she really cared about how I could implement these changes and offered many suggestions that would save me time and money. I would highly recommend Suzen to anyone looking for real, workable solutions to enhance their website performance and SEO

Jennifer Covello, Owner, Frittabello

“Last nights EWN event “Rock Your Website to the Top of Google” ROCKED ! As a long time member of EWN, last nights event was one of the most memorable for walking out with lots of ammo. Suzen filled every inch of her talk with useful information and moved things along at a pace that kept everyone in the room stimulated, inquisitive and wanting more…glad to hear she has a webinar coming up in January. Great job, thanks Suzen!…”

My OB-GYN practice was way behind the times technologically. We had nothing to distinguish us on the internet from any of the many other practices in the area. Suzen’s expert guidance and the skills of the Omaginarium team enabled us to increase our visibility , expand our marketing options and most importantly draw new patients to our offices. We have been so successful that we have added a new Physician Assistant to handle all the increased traffic.

Miriam H Khan, MD

Our start-up was having a difficult time getting noticed online. And then came Suzen. 6 months later we now dominate page 1 of Google. She’s inventive, so easy to work with and fun. It’s been a pleasure working with her and the results speak for themselves.